Method of and apparatus for spreading cloth

ABSTRACT

A cyclically operated cloth spreader wherein cloth is drawn from a supply roll mounted for rotation about its axis by a feeding device and a measured length of the cloth is laid upon the upper flight of a traveling belt of a conveyer which latter is mounted for movement in a back-and-forth manner. When the conveyer and the cloth thereon reach the forward limit position in its stroke, the leading end of the cloth is gripped and held. The conveyer now returns to its starting position, leaving the leading end of the cloth gripped whereupon a rotatable cutting blade then moves across and cuts the cloth leaving a length of the cloth on a pile of cloth lengths previously fed and cut by the spreader. This completes one cycle of operation which then repeats itself.

[ Aug. 27, 1974 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPREADING CLOTH [75] Inventor: Tadajiro Sasaki, Osaka, Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Gaisha Sesaki Seisakirsho,

Osaka, Japan [22] Filed: May 31, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 365,686

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 12, 1972 Japan 47-58792 [52] US. Cl 83/92, 83/176, 83/277, 83/409 [51] Int. Cl D06h 7/00 [58] 'Field of Search 83/277, 276, 155, 87, 92, 83/ 176, 409; 270/30 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,260,143 7/1966 Von Rudgisch 83/86 X 3,523,473 8/1970 Norcross et a] 83/86 X Primary ExaminerJ. M. Meister Attorney, Agent, or FirmPierce, Scheffler & Parker ABSTRACT A cyclically operated cloth spreader wherein cloth is drawn from a supply roll mounted for rotation about its axis by a feeding device and a measured length of the cloth is laid upon the upper flight of a traveling belt of a conveyer which latter is mounted for movement in a back-and-fort h manner. When the conveyer and the cloth thereon reach the forward limit position in its stroke, the leading end of the cloth is gripped and held. The conveyer now returns to its starting position, leaving the leading end of the cloth gripped whereupon a rotatable cutting blade then moves across and cuts the cloth leaving a length of the cloth on a pile of cloth lengths previously fed and cut by the spreader. This completes one cycle of operation which then repeats itself.

7 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENTEB 2719 SHEH 20! 2 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPREADING CLOTH This invention relates to a novel spreading method of rolled cloth and a novel cloth spreader.

In the prior art cloth spreader, a roll of cloth is generally supported directly on a carriage which travels on a table back and forth, and during the carriage travels, the cloth is wound off the roll to lay-up on the cloth already piled on the table. But according to the prior cloth spreader, the following disadvantage are inevitable.

1. The carriage has to always support and transfer the rolled cloth, which weighs sometimes more than 300 kg. Therefore, it requires big power and also a special brake system with large capacity to accelerate and decelerate the carriage quickly. Besides, the frame of the machine must be hardy enough to bear the load. The manufacturing cost is liable to increase. The spreading speed can not exceed 40 70 metres per minute.

2. The cloth is put under tension on a pile of cloth which is already formed on the table. Therefore, slight waves or tension on each cloth layer in the pile of the cloth is inevitable. When each cloth in the pile has waves or tension, it prevents one from obtaining accurate pieces of cloth in the subsequent cutting process.

In the process of spreading knitted fabric, especially the disadvantages are likely to occur. So, in the prior spreader, it is practically impossible to spread knitted fabric.

According to the present invention, the above, and other disadvantages of the conventional cloth spreader are largely avoided.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a method of spreading rolled cloth, which method eliminates waves or tension on each cloth layer in the pile of the cloth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spreading method which increases the spreading speed.

A third inventive object is to provide a cloth spreader which is suitable for use in practising the aforementioned spreading method. 4

A fourth inventive object is to provide a cloth spreader which can be manufactured easily and at lower cost.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a cloth spreader embodying this invention, with its conveyor at a forward position;

FIG. 2 is also a schematic side view of the cloth spreader with its conveyer at a starting position;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the front part of the spreader shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 presents schematic diagrams showing the spreading processes.

In FIG. 1, cloth 2 is supplied out of roll 1 and put on conveyor 3 which reaches its forward end position where catcher 5 is about to grip the front rim of the cloth. In FIG. 2, the catcher 5 secures the rim of the cloth on pile 16 of cloth 2 already laidup on table 4. The conveyer 3 stands at its starting point where cutter 6 has just cut the cloth 2.

Principal components of the cloth spreader according to the present invention are; a cloth feeder 7 which draws cloth 2 off the roll 1 and transfers the cloth 2 on the conveyer 3; conveyer control devices 27, 28; and cutter 6.

In FIG. -I, five free rollers '8 are disposed on an arc to support the roll 1 snugly so that roll 1 can rotate when the conveyer 3 moves forward (to the right in FIG. 1) and cloth 2 is drawn by cloth feeder 7 to synchronize with the speed of conveyer 3. Each of the free rollers 8 has an axle 9 projecting on both sides of the roller, which axle 9 is journaled in a respective bearing (not shown) attached onv side frame 10 of machine body 11. A guide roller 12 is journaled freely at the upper part of bracket 13 attached on the side frame 10. The cloth feeder 7 is composed of two measuring rolls 14, 15, one or. both of which rolls are driven by a motor (not shown) so that a corresponding amount of cloth '2 to the length which conveyer 3 travels forward, passes through cloth feeder 7 and cloth 2 is laid tenderly on the upper surface 3a of the conveyer 3. Since the weight of roll 1 changes as cloth 2 is pulled out, resistance against feeding motion at cloth feeder 7 also changes, all of which may cause a slight slack or tension in the cloth 2 even after itis laid flat on the conveyer 3. This slack or tension is preferably eliminated through the successive process where conveyer 3 returns to the left leaving the cloth 2 on the pile 16. In other words, the conveyer 3 acts as an absorber of the slack and tension as is explained later in detail.

The conveyer 3 is mainly composed of a pair of pantograph frames 17 and an endless belt 18. The pantograph frames 17 are disposed at both sides of the belt 18 and each frame 17 has many arms 19. A pair of crossed anns 19 are connected by a central pin 20, and adjacent pairs of arms are connected by an upper pin 21 and a lower pin 22 thus forming a long pantograph frame 17. Leftmost lower pin 22' is stationary on the side frame 10, and leftmost upper pin 21' is slidably supported in a guide 23 attached on the side frame 10. Leftmost central pin 20' is connected to a rod 24 of power cylinder 25 which is also fixed on the side frame 10. Therefore, when the cylinder 25 is activated to push the rod 24 to the right, the pantograph frame 17 extends to the right as shown in FIG. 1, and when the rod 24 pulls the central pin 20 located at the position of FIG. 1 to the left, the pantograph frame !7 contracts as shown in FIG. 2.

Rightmost lower pin 22" is fixed to each side plate of roller 26 and is journaled in the conveyer control device 28 as well as journaled in a lower bearing of arm 19 (which bearing is not shown). The conveyer control device 28 is, in this example, a brake which holds rotation of the roller 26 while the conveyer 3 is'travelingto the right. Two devices 28 are mounted on'both sides of holder 29 which has a transverse cross member 30 and a slot 31 at each side of the holder 29 which has a transverse cross member 30 and a slot 31 at each side of the holder 29 to introduce lowerpins 22, so that the pantograph frame 17 can be shortened without interference between the holder 29 and lowerpins 22. The slots 31 also act as stabilizers to hold the holder 29 in a certain state as shown in FIGS. 1, 2.

The cross member 30 forms a comb 32 shown in FIG. 3 at its lower end and a corresponding upper comb 33 is disposed to grip the end rim 2a of the cloth 2. The upper comb 33 is connected to a vertical rod 34 which,

in turn, is held in a solenoid 35 mounted on a front surface of the cross member 30. In FIG. 3, the end rim 2a is about to be pressed down and caught by the catcher 5.

The catcher has a comb 37 (FIG. 3) connected with its shaft 38 to a rotary solenoid 39 on a pole 40 (FIG. 1). When the end rim (FIG. 3) is brought to a position shown in FIG. 3, the comb 37 is forced to rotate anti-clockwise to engage with the combs 32 and 33. Teeth on the comb 37 enter into the corresponding recesses 41 formed between the teeth on the combs 32 and 33, and presses down the end rim 2a exposed in the recesses 41 against the cloth pile 16 which is already laid up on the table 4 (FIG. 1). At the same time, or a while later, upper comb 33 is lifted up by solenoid 35 and releases end rim 2a of the cloth which motion permits the conveyer 3 to return to its starting position (FIG. 2) leaving cloth 2 alone on the pile 16. During the return process, conveyer control device (brake) 28 is kept released, while another conveyer control device 27 grabs the belt 18, so that the rightmost roll 26 rotates clockwise under the influence of an accumulator 42 (FIG. 1), thereby retracting the conveyer 3 and permitting cloth 2 a soft landing on the pile 16, as if the endless belt 18 is tenderly peeled from the cloth 2.

Accumulator 42 is composed of four stationary rolls 43, 44, 45, 46 and three movable rolls 47, 48, 49. Each of the stationary rolls has an axle by which it is journaled on the side frame 10. Movable rolls 47, 48, 49 are journaled on a connecting rod 50 at each side. When the brake 28 is released, movable rolls 47 49 go down together with the bar 50 thereby accumulating the belt as shown in FIG. 2.

Conveyor control device 27 is composed of, in this example, a pair of rolls. The lower roll can rotate freely to guide the belt, but the upper roll can be locked by a brake (not shown) to grip the belt 18 at the device 27.

Cutter 6 which is mounted on the side frames 10, is composed of a disc blade 52 fixed on the axis of motor 53. The motor 53 is slidably guided in a transverse rail 54 in which the motor 53 travels. The rail 54 is also guided at both of its ends in vertical rails 55 and is driven upward and downward keeping its horizontal posture. When the conveyer 3 returns to its starting point (FIG. 2)., rail 54 is lowered as shown in FIG. 2, then blade 52 starts rotation and travels along the rail 54 to cut the cloth 2. After the cutting process, motor 53 is turned off and rail 54 is lifted up to rest.

The height of the table 4 is automatically adjusted so as to keep the upper level of the pile 16 at a certain height.

Operation of the machine is as follows:

FIG. 4-A illustrates a position of conveyer 3 and cutter 6 just before the spreading processes start.

When conveyer 3 starts to proceed, conveyer control device 27 (FIG. 1) releases the belt, while another conveyer control device 28 (FIG. 1) is locked, so that the roll 26 does not rotate. As the conveyer goes forward by means of power cylinder 25, cloth 2 is simultaneously drawn out of the roll 1 and measured at cloth feeder 7 so as to supply the cloth 2 on the belt 18 to synchronize with the conveyer 3.

FIG. 4-B illustrates the conveyer 3 at its rightmost position where the front end rim of the cloth is caught by the catcher 5 (FIG. 1). Then, conveyer control device 27 (FIG. 1) is locked, while another device 28 (FIG. 1) is released.

FIG. 4-C illustrates the conveyer 3 on the way back to its starting point leaving cloth 2 on the pile 16.

FIG. 4-D illustrates the conveyer 3 at its return position, where cutter 6 is actuating.

According to the present invention, slack or tension is not left in the cloth when piled on the table because the conveyer acts as a slack or tension absorber and it permits the cloth soft landing. The belt is removed from the cloth, as if it is peeled from the lower surface of the cloth.

Roll of the cloth does not travel during the spreading process. This enables a construction which is very simple and inexpensive.

The performance and durability of the machine are highly improved.

Instead of the pantograph type conveyer, a conveyer with a horizontal oil cylinder which provides with a foremost roll is employed.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the examples herein shown and described, but that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cloth spreader comprising a cloth feeder which draws a cloth from a stationary roll and transfers the cloth downward, a moving conveyer which transfers the cloth to a certain position over a table, conveyer control means which prevents rotation of a foremost roll when the conveyer travels forward, and locks a rearward point on the upper portion of the conveyer when the conveyer returns rearward, and a cutter; said conveyer being installed with a catcher which holds a front rim of the cloth until the cloth rim is handed over to another stationary catcher installed adjacent to the front part of the table, said cutter being adapted to actuate when the conveyer returns to its starting point.

2. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said roll is supported on free rollers arranged on an are on the side frame of the machine body.

3. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said conveyer is supported horizontally by a pantograph frame.

4. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said conveyer has a movable foremost roll and a device to accumulate the conveyer belt inside the machine body.

5. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said conveyer control means is composed of a brake which locks the foremost roll of the conveyer when the conveyer travels forward and another brake which locks a rearward point on the upper portion of the conveyer when the conveyer returns rearward.

6. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said catcher installed at the front portion of the conveyer is composed of a lower fixed comb and a corresponding upper movable comb.

7. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said table is automatically adjusted so as to keep the height of the cloth pile constant.

v UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE CERTIFECATE @F QQRRECTEQN be??? Q 7 A 7 1974 Patent No.

Ta'dajiro Sasaki Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Iri Claims 2-7, line 1 of each "2" should be:

Signed and sealed this 26th day cf Navember 1974.

(SEAL) Attest McCO? MIGIBSOE? JR. c'." MARSHALL DANN Atteetimg Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 FORM PO-1050 (10-69) u.s. GOVERNMENT manna orncs lsos o-ass-su, 

1. A cloth spreader comprising a cloth feeder which draws a cloth from a stationary roll and transfers the cloth downward, a moving conveyer which transfers the cloth to a certain position over a table, conveyer control means which prevents rotation of a foremost roll when the conveyer travels forward, and locks a rearward point on the upper portion of the conveyer when the conveyer returns rearward, and a cutter; said conveyer being installed with a catcher which holds a front rim of the cloth until the cloth rim is handed over to another stationary catcher installed adjacent to the front part of the table, said cutter being adapted to actuate when the conveyer returns to its starting point.
 2. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said roll is supported on free rollers arranged on an arc on the side frame of the machine body.
 3. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said conveyer is supported horizontally by a pantograph frame.
 4. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said conveyer has a movable foremost roll and a device to accumulate the conveyer belt inside the machine body.
 5. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said conveyer control means is composed of a brake which locks the foremost roll of the conveyer when the conveyer travels forward and another brake which locks a rearward point on the upper portion of the conveyer when the conveyer returns rearward.
 6. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said catcher installed at the front portion of the conveyer is composed of a lower fixed comb and a corresponding upper movable comb.
 7. A cloth spreader as defined in claim 2, wherein said table is automatically adjusted so as to keep the height of the cloth pile constant. 